Happy February 1st! After having a disappointing experience with our January selection, I really felt the pressure when choosing our books for February. This month I wanted to read a romance because February is the month of love! 🙂 But, I have a romance in mind for March and I hated to do back to back romances for those who don’t love that genre.
So I went with two books. Two is better than one, right? 🙂
This month we are reading Catch Her When She Falls by Allison Buccola and Made in Manhattan by Lauren Layne (my favorite romance writer!)
You can, of course, choose to read both, one, or neither!
Here’s what each one is about:
Catch Her When She Falls by Allison Buccola
Add it to your Goodreads here
Ten years ago, my boyfriend killed my best friend.
When Micah Wilkes was a senior in high school, her boyfriend was convicted of murdering her best friend, Emily. A decade later, Micah has finally moved on from the unforgivable betrayal and loss. Now the owner of a bustling coffee shop in her small hometown in Pennsylvania, she’s happily coupled up with another old high school friend, the two having bonded over their shared sorrow.
But when reminders of her past begin appearing at her work and home, Micah begins to doubt what she knows about Emily’s death. Questions raised on a true crime blog and in an online web sleuthing forum force her to reexamine her memories of that fateful night. She told the truth to the investigators on the case, but was there another explanation for Emily’s murder? A stranger in the woods. An obsessive former classmate. Or the internet’s favorite suspect: Joshua, Emily’s outcast younger brother who hasn’t been seen since his sister’s death.
As Micah delves deeper into the case, she feels her grip on reality loosening, her behavior growing more and more secretive and unhinged. As she races to piece together the truth about that night ten years ago, Micah grapples with how things could have gone so wrong and wonders whether she, too, might be next to disappear.
Made in Manhattan by Lauren Layne
Add it to your Goodreads here
Violet Townsend has always been a people pleaser. Raised in the privileged world of Upper East Side Manhattan, she always says the right things, wears the right clothes, and never rocks the boat. Violet would do anything for the people closest to her, especially her beloved grandmother. So when she asks Violet to teach the newly-discovered grandson of her friend how to fit in with New York City’s elite, Violet immediately agrees. Her goal? To get Cain Stone ready to take his place as heir to his family company…but to say he’s not exactly an eager student is an understatement.
Born and raised in rural Louisiana and now making his own way in New Orleans, Cain Stone is only playing along for the paycheck at the end. He has no use for the grandmother he didn’t know existed and no patience for the uppity Violet’s attempts to turn him into a suit-wearing, museum-attending gentleman.
But somewhere amidst antagonistic dinner parties and tortured tux fittings, Cain and Violet come to a begrudging understanding—and the uptight Violet realizes she’s not the only one doing the teaching. As she and Cain begin to find mutual respect for one another (and maybe even something more), Violet learns that blindly following society’s rules doesn’t lead to happiness…and that sometimes the best things in life come from the most unexpected places.
How to Join LaLa Life Book Club
If you want more info about our online bookclub and how to join, I shared a blog post that contains all the info you need! You can read it here.
Suggested Reading Schedules
Here’s the suggested reading schedule for each book. If you want to check in midway thru the month and chat about what you’ve read so far, I’ll be posting on Instagram and our Facebook Group and you can share your thoughts then. If you want to wait until the end of the book to discuss, I’ll also post on the 30th. If you want to join the Facebook group, click here. 🙂
Now, who’s excited for these month’s picks? Happy reading, friends! 🙂
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